The Honourable Eric Hoskins, Minister of Health and Long-Term Care recently introduced Bill 122 for First Reading in the Ontario Legislature. The Bill, entitled The Mental Health Statute Law Amendment Act, 2015, will, if passed, make technical amendments to the Mental Health Act to provide the Consent and Capacity Board with new powers regarding the criteria and length of time a patient can continue to be held as an involuntary patient in a psychiatric facility. These amendments are designed to strengthen patient rights. Patients will have more opportunities to appear before the Consent and Capacity Board to question the criteria under which a psychiatric facility can hold a patient as an involuntary patient.
For more information on Bill 112, visit the Government of Ontario website.